Food safety

Question

This piglix contains articles or sub-piglix about Food safety

Answer 1

Recommended maximum intake of alcoholic beverages

There is no global consensus on recommended maximum intake (or safe limits) of the drug alcohol. The guidelines provided by health agencies of governments are varied and are shown below. These recommendations concerning maximum intake are distinct from any legal restrictions (e.g. driving after consuming alcohol) that may apply in those countries. The American Heart Association recommends that those who do not already consume alcoholic beverages should not start doing so because of the negative long-term effects of alcohol consumption.

The guidelines are general guidelines applying to a typical person. However, there are some people who should not consume alcohol, or limit their use to less than guideline amounts. These are:

The standard guidelines may be too high when:

Countries express alcohol intake in units or standard drinks when recommending maximum alcohol intake. In increasing order of unit size a unit or standard drink is defined as:

The standard drink size is given in brackets.

Therefore, these countries recommend limits for men in the range 20–40 g per day.

These countries recommend a weekly limit, but intake on a particular day may be higher than one-seventh of the weekly amount.

Therefore, these countries recommend limits for men in the range 27.2–32 g of ethanol per day and 168–210 g of ethanol per week.

Women trying to become pregnant should look at the guidelines for pregnant women given in the next section.

Therefore, these countries recommend limits for women in the range 10–30 g per day.

These countries recommend a weekly limit, but your intake on a particular day may be higher than one-seventh of the weekly amount.

Therefore, these countries recommend limits for women in the range 14–27.2 g per day and 98–140 g per week.

Excessive drinking in pregnancy is the cause of Fetal alcohol syndrome (BE: foetal alcohol syndrome), especially in the first eight to twelve weeks of pregnancy. Therefore, pregnant women receive special advice. It is not known whether there is a safe minimum amount of alcohol consumption, although low levels of drinking are not known to be harmful. As there may be some weeks between conception and confirmation of pregnancy, most countries recommend that women trying to become pregnant should follow the guidelines for pregnant women.

In short, all countries listed above now recommend that women abstain from alcohol consumption if they are pregnant or likely to become pregnant.

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Answer 2

Risk Assessment under the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement

The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the "SPS Agreement") governs rules for food safety and animal and plant health standards. The SPS Agreement permits countries to implement measures provided that they are based on science, are applied only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal and plant life or health and do not arbitrarily or unjustifiably discriminate between countries where identical or similar conditions prevail.

A critical feature of the SPS Agreement is that Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures (“SPS measures”) must be based on a ‘risk assessment’. Article 2.2 of the SPS Agreement requires SPS measures to be maintained with sufficient scientific evidence. Furthermore, SPS measures must be based on appropriate assessments of the risks to human, animal or plant life or health. The risk assessment must, but is not limited to, consider: scientific evidence, relevant processes and production methods, relevant inspection, sampling and testing methods, prevalence of specific diseases or pests, existence of pest or disease free areas, relevant ecological and environmental conditions, and quarantine or other treatment. Exceptionally, Members may adopt provisional measures (not based on a risk assessment) when the relevant scientific evidence is insufficient.

Risk assessment is defined in para4 of Annex A to the SPS agreement: The evaluation of the likelihood of entry, establishment or spread of a pest or disease within the territory of an importing Member according to the sanitary or phytosanitary measures which might be applied, and of the associated potential biological and economic consequences; or the evaluation of the potential for adverse effects on human or animal health arising from the presence of additives, contaminants, toxins or disease-causing organisms in food, beverages or feedstuffs.

Risk assessment represents a quantitative or qualitative estimate of the possible ‘harmful effect of the intake of or exposure to a substance or activity, determined in accordance with scientifically accepted methodology.’ The risk to be assessed under article 5.1 must be a specific risk that has “the actual potential for adverse effects on human health in the real world where people live and work and die.” This can be contrasted with ‘risk management’, which takes into account the result of the risk assessment in addition to the social values and politics. Risk management seeks to establish the level of risk a particular society is willing to take in relation to the potential harm and the corresponding SPS measure.

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Answer 3

Scores on the doors

A term probably originating in widespread public use with the TV Show The Generation Game in regards to the points scored by contestants, Scores on the doors is also now a term for publication or display of food hygiene or food safety inspection results of food businesses. Regulatory inspection results are published as either an inspection and compliance summary or, elsewhere, a grade or score is all that is published.

On 1 January 2005 the UK Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations came into effect and local councils slowly began to publish the information on the Internet and via certificates. However there was no uniform grading system and many councils chose their own schemes, thus making comparison difficult. On 10 December 2008 the Food Standards Agency (FSA) board decided to approve a 6-tier scheme called the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and a 2-tier (Pass/Improvement required) Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS) for Scotland.

From November 2013 it became compulsory for food businesses in Wales to display stickers, with similar legislation coming into force in Northern Ireland from October 2016. FSA is compiling evidence to commence introducing legislation for compulsory display of stickers in England.

The official UK government ratings website includes ratings for all UK regions and is mobile device friendly, although no app is provided. The FSA data is publicly available for download

Other commercial websites and smartphone apps are also available, together with reporting and analysis software to enable businesses to performance manage their compliance and compare with their competitors.

In Australia, where national food safety standards are brought into force by state government statutes and enforced at the state or local level, the New South Wales Food Authority commenced a pilot program with local governments in 2010 utilising A, B and C letter grades. This was expanded to a trial in participating local government areas in 2011 utilising an equivalent system of star ratings (5 stars, 4 stars, 3 stars) and an accompanying interpretive grade (Excellent, Very Good or Good) to reflect the degree of compliance with minimum food safety standards. In late 2013 the program was enhanced to encourage further take-up.

Participation in the program is voluntary.

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Answer 4

Shelf life

Shelf life is the length of time that a commodity may be stored without becoming unfit for use, consumption, or sale. In other words, it might refer to whether a commodity should no longer be on a pantry shelf (unfit for use), or just no longer on a supermarket shelf (unfit for sale, but not yet unfit for use). It applies to cosmetics, foods and beverages, medical devices, medicines, explosives, pharmaceutical drugs, chemicals, tires, batteries, and many other perishable items. In some regions, an advisory best before, mandatory use by, or freshness date is required on packaged perishable foods.

Shelf life is the recommended maximum time for which products or fresh (harvested) produce can be stored, during which the defined quality of a specified proportion of the goods remains acceptable under expected (or specified) conditions of distribution, storage and display.

Most expiration dates are used as guidelines based on normal and expected handling and exposure to temperature. Use prior to the expiration date does not guarantee the safety of a food or drug, and a product is not necessarily dangerous or ineffective after the expiration date.

According to the USDA, "canned foods are safe indefinitely as long as they are not exposed to freezing temperatures, or temperatures above 90 °F (32.2° C). If the cans look ok, they are safe to use. Discard cans that are dented, rusted, or swollen. High-acid canned foods (tomatoes, fruits) will keep their best quality for 12 to 18 months; low-acid canned foods (meats, vegetables) for 2 to 5 years. 80 °F (27 °C).

"Sell by date" is a less ambiguous term for what is often referred to as an "expiration date". Most food is still edible after the expiration date. A product that has passed its shelf life might still be safe, but quality is no longer guaranteed. In most food stores, waste is minimized by using , which involves moving products with the earliest sell by date from the warehouse to the sales area, and then to the front of the shelf, so that most shoppers will pick them up first and thus they are likely to be sold before the end of their shelf life. This is important, as consumers enjoy fresher goods, and furthermore some stores can be fined for selling out of date products; most if not all would have to mark such products down as wasted, resulting in a financial loss.

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Answer 5

Spiral plater

A spiral plater is an instrument used to dispense a liquid sample onto a Petri dish in a spiral pattern. Commonly used as part of a CFU count procedure for the purpose of determining the number of microbes in the sample. In this setting, after spiral plating, the Petri dish is incubated for several hours after which the number of colony forming microbes (CFU) is determined. Spiral platers are also used for research, clinical diagnostics and as a method for covering a Petri dish with bacteria before placing antibiotic discs for AST.

The spiral plater rotates the dish while simultaneously dispensing the liquid and either linearly moving the dish or the dispensing tip. This creates the common spiral pattern. If all movements are done in constant speed, the spiral created would have a lower concentration on the outside of the plate than on the inside. More advanced spiral platers provide different options for spiral patterns such as constant concentration (by slowing down the spinning and / or the lateral movements) or exponential concentration (by speeding up the spinning and / or the lateral movements).

Spiral plating is used extensively for microbiological testing of food, milk and milk products and cosmetics. It is an approved method by the FDA. The advantage of spiral plating is less plates used versus plating manually because different concentrations are present on each plate. This also makes it harder to count the colonies and requires special techniques and equipment.

Spiral platers are either available as stand-alone instruments that are fed manually with plates and samples or fed automatically using dedicated stackers. Alternatively spiral platers are available as integrated devices as part of larger automated platforms. In this case a larger workflow is often automated, e.g. plating, incubation and counting.

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Answer 6

Specified risk material

Specified risk material

Specified risk material (SRM) is the general term designated for tissues of ruminant animals that cannot be inspected and passed for human food because scientists have determined that BSE-causing prions concentrate there. The term was referred to in the United Kingdom's Specified Risk Material Order 1997 (S.I. 1997/2964), in the United States Department of Agriculture's, and in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's regulatory response to the first confirmed U.S. BSE case in December 2003.

These can include brains, eyes, spinal cord, and other organs; the exact definition varies by jurisdiction. Under the new regulations (69 FR 1862, January 12, 2004), SRMs are: the brain, skull, eyes, trigeminal ganglia, spinal cord, vertebral column (with some exclusions), dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of cattle 30 months of age and older, and the tonsils and distal ileum of the small intestine of all cattle.

The BSE infective agent has been found to concentrate in specific tissues of BSE-infected cattle and these tissues are all part of the central nervous system, as BSE has not been shown to infect muscle.

In both the United States (U.S.) and Canada, considered as controlled risk countries, SRMs are defined as: skull, brain, trigeminal ganglia (nerves attached to brain and close to the skull exterior), eyes, spinal cord, distal ileum (a part of the small intestine), and the dorsal root ganglia (nerves attached to the spinal cord and close to the vertebral column) of cattle aged 30 months or older. On January 12, 2004, the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the USDA published new rules banning such materials from the human food supply.

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Answer 7

Sneeze guard

A sneeze guard or sneezeguard is a plastic or glass screen designed to protect food from contamination. Sneeze guards are common in restaurants and buffets, and prevent pathogens from entering food through sneezing.

The sneeze guard was patented in 1959 by restaurateur Johnny Garneau as a "Food Service Table". By the early 1960s, the FDA mandated the presence of food guards. Similar regulations were subsequently adopted by all 50 U.S. states.

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Answer 8

Richard Sprenger

Richard Sprenger is a food safety expert and author of a number of books and many interactive training presentations on the topic of food safety and hygiene. His commentary on food safety has featured in media in the Middle East such as The National and the Khaleej Times. He contributes regularly at such events as the Dubai International Food Safety Conferences, which are held annually across that Middle East and also speaks at events such as the annual Food Chain Conferences in Doha.

Sprenger started his career in food safety in 1973 when he qualified as an Environmental Health Officer. At the age of 38 he became a Director of Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council’s (one of the UK’s largest local authorities) multidisciplinary Directorate of Environmental Services.

In 1990 Sprenger became the first environmental health officer appointed as a member of the UK Government Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food and a member of the Salmonella in Eggs sub-committee. He was also a Local Authorities Coordinator of Regulatory Services (LACORS) advisor and Chair of the LACORS Food Poisoning Working Group.

Sprenger is a fellow of the Society of Food Hygiene Technology (SOFHT), the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland and the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH). He has worked closely with large organisations to develop food safety management systems and training programmes, including CWS Retail Services, Marks & Spencer Plc, McDonald's, The De Vere Group, WRVS, Shell Retail International, HM Prison Catering Services and Gala Retail Services (Ireland). He has provided advice and consultancy services to Governments including the UK Food Standards Agency (The training of Environmental Health Officers regarding the enforcement of the food safety management system for small businesses), such as Safer Food Better Business and the Ministry of Health in Bahrain.

He was the founder member of the Institute of Environmental Health Officer's Food Hygiene Education Working group. In 1982 the CIEH used Sprenger’s Basic and Advanced Food Safety courses he had developed in King's Lynn and with a few minor amendments these became the most popular food safety courses in the UK.He started Highfield.

Sprenger regularly speaks at international conferences. He has been involved in assisting in the training of environmental health officers in the UK, Ireland, Malta, Dubai, Cyprus, Mauritius and the Seychelles. In 2011 he held a workshop in Dubai. His specialist subjects include food safety management, food poisoning investigations, the training of food handlers and enforcement officers, auditing and inspection and HACCP/Food Safety management programmes.

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Wikipedia

Answer 9

Substantial equivalence

In food safety, the concept of substantial equivalence holds that the safety of a new food, particularly one that has been genetically modified (GM), may be assessed by comparing it with a similar traditional food that has proven safe in normal use over time. It was first formulated as a food safety policy in 1993, by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

As part of a food safety testing process, substantial equivalence is the initial step, establishing toxicological and nutritional differences in the new food compared to a conventional counterpart—differences are analyzed and evaluated, and further testing may be conducted, leading to a final safety assessment.

Substantial equivalence is the underlying principle in GM food safety assessment for a number of national and international agencies, including the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization.

The concept of comparing genetically modified foods to traditional foods as a basis for safety assessment was first introduced as a recommendation during the 1990 Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on biotechnology and food safety (a scientific conference of officials and industry), although the term substantial equivalence was not used. Adopting the term, substantial equivalence was formulated as a food safety policy by the OECD, first described in their 1993 report, "Safety Evaluation of Foods Derived by Modern Biotechnology: Concepts and Principles. The term was borrowed from the FDA's 1976 substantial equivalence definition for new medical devices—under Premarket Notification 510(k), a new Class II device that is essentially similar to an existing device can be cleared for release without further testing. The underlying approach of comparing a new product or technique to an existing one has long been used in various fields of science and technology.

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Answer 10

Time temperature indicator

A time temperature indicator (TTI) is a device or smart label that shows the accumulated time-temperature history of a product. Time temperature indicators are commonly used on food, pharmaceutical, and medical products to indicate exposure to excessive temperature (and time at temperature).

In contrast, a Temperature data logger measures and records the temperatures for a specified time period. The digital data can be downloaded and analyzed.

There are a large number of different time temperature indicators available in the market, based on different technologies. Some devices are based migration of dye through a filter paper, while others contain pouches with bacterial fluids that change color when certain time-temperature combinations have been reached. To the degree that these physical changes in the indicator match the degradation rate of the food, the indicator can help indicate probable food degradation.

Digital Temperature data loggers are available to indicate the full temperature history of a shipment to help identify the time period that out-of-tolerance temperatures were encountered. This temperature history can be used to calculate the loss of shelf life or the likelihood of spoilage. These small recorders are also used to identify the time (and thus location) of a shipment when the problem occurred, which allows for corrective action.

Time-temperature indicators can be used on food products that are dependent on a controlled temperature environment. Certain technologies can also be used for frozen food and the cold chain.

Surveys within the EU projects "Freshlabel" and "Chill-on" have shown a positive feedback by consumers to the use of TTIs on food products. As TTIs help assure the cool chain of food products, they are expected to reduce the amount of food waste, as well as reducing the number of foodborne illnesses.

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